Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Exelon Co. (NASDAQ:EXC) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.33.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Exelon from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Exelon from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Exelon from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Exelon in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock.

Exelon Price Performance

NASDAQ EXC opened at $39.11 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Exelon has a 1-year low of $33.35 and a 1-year high of $41.42.

Exelon (NASDAQ:EXC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.04. Exelon had a return on equity of 9.47% and a net margin of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Exelon will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Exelon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Exelon’s payout ratio is 62.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Exelon by 16.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 105,310,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,956,525,000 after acquiring an additional 14,749,899 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Exelon by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,169,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,862,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156,259 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Exelon by 112.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,527,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,184,483,000 after acquiring an additional 16,686,526 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Exelon by 18.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,782,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Exelon by 1.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,967,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,626,000 after purchasing an additional 160,313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.92% of the company’s stock.

Exelon Company Profile

Exelon Corporation, a utility services holding company, engages in the energy distribution and transmission businesses in the United States and Canada. The company is involved in the purchase and regulated retail sale of electricity and natural gas, transmission and distribution of electricity, and distribution of natural gas to retail customers.